PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN. A secret organization, commonly known as the A. P. A., which was formed in the United States to combat the influence of Roman Catholicism. Its platform. as published by a Supreme Council held at Des Moines, Iowa, in May, 1894, stated that "subjection to and support of any ecclesias tical power not created and controlled by Ameri can citizens is irreconcilable with American cit izenship." that State assistance to parochial schools and Church interference with public edu cation are undesirable, and that restrictions ought to be imposed on immigration. Candidates for admission into tho' order were required to take oath never to favor or aid the choice of a Roman Catholic to political office, and never to employ a Roman Catliolic in any capacity if the services of a Protestant could be obtained. The order was first established at Clinton. Iowa, in 1887. It obtained its greatest foothold in the Middle West. but it extended even to Canada. England. and Australia. and an international or ganization was ultimately effected. In 1896 its president. W. J. H. Traynor, claimed for it a membership of almost 2.5010,000. The methods which it used to extend its influence are thus de scribed by a writer in The Nation: "Documents Purporting to be authoritative utterances of the Roman Catholic hierarchy were parsed front hand to hand. No one could tell where these were printed or who was responsible for them. One was entitled 'Instructions to True Catholics :' another purported to be an encyclical letter from the Pope, calling upon the faithful to rise on a certain date (September 13, 1893) to massacre all Protestant heretics. Certain newspapers,
filled with similar literature, with the most alarming reports of Roman drilling and arming in preparation for an outbreak. and making the most shocking charges against priests and nuns, were rent to prominent persons and distributed from hand to hand. Accompanying these were exaggerated reports of the number of Roman Catholics holding public office." The or der soon began to interfere in politics. and forced many candidates for office to promise to act in accordance with its principles. In 1896 its presi dent, claimed that almost one hundred of the Na tional Representative, and many of the Senators chosen in 1894 had given such pledge,. although many had broken them. For a time it seemed that the order would probably run a similar course to the Know (q.v.), with which it was often compared. .soon. however, the de nunciations of clear-sighted, influential men. and the realization that the dangers dreaded were al most if not altogether imaginary, had their effect. and the decline of the order was even more rapid than its rise. Affiliated with the A. P. A. were the Order of American Mechanics. the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America, and other organization-.